Flood-proof homes act as safe havens in Alappuzha

ALAPPUZHA: Flood-resilient houses constructed by Kudumbashree under the ‘I am for Alleppey’ project of district administration in Kuttanad are now acting as safe havens for flood victims. Such houses are now acting as camping places and food supply centres for flood-hit people.

‘I am for Alleppey’ is a social media campaign led by Alappuzha sub-collector Krishna Teja, it has deployed 42 groups of Kuttanad women working in Kudumbashree to construct 116 flood-resilient houses for Kuttanad flood victims. These houses are sponsored by Ramoji Film City after they noticed the initiative for rebuilding flood-ravaged Alappuzha.

As part of its first phase, the construction of 42 houses is underway and is almost completed. In the second phase, 43 houses will be constructed, and work will begin soon. The third phase consists of the construction of 31 houses.

Sheeba Azad, a flood victim, said that the flood-resilient house constructed in their area was for a poor family. “Their house used to get flooded every monsoon. During the last flood, the water came till their roof level. So, the sub-collector allotted a house for them and its construction is almost complete. Presently, it is the only house in our area which is not flooded. So, we are depending on this house for cooking and eating,” she said.

“We are constructing 500 homes for the flood victims in Alappuzha under the campaign. Most of the homes have an RCC roof, which will help people to collect air drops. Every village in Kuttanad will have at least one flood-resilient house. We are constructing houses that are at least 500 sq ft in size. Each house consists of two bedrooms, one hall, one kitchen and an attached bathroom,” said Teja.